Quiet Memories

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: This story must contain the words: mission, flight, lock

Quiet Memory

The dove took flight, but only after sneaking over to take the offered crumb from Father Samuel’s hand.

The Father stood slowly and remembered a time when he could do so without an audible groan. A long life of service to others is its own blessing he thought. The mantra passed through his head more often now than it had when he first heard it more than fifty years ago.

He had been young once. The world was his for the taking and he enjoyed life with every part of his being. Hedonism was the order of the day.

Like Icarus, he flew too close to the sun. 

While living life to the fullest, he had fallen in love. His love made his life soar. When he lost her to the plague, the fall had been almost more than he could bear. In the end, he chose a life of service and solitude. The mission had welcomed him with comforting arms.

Now, as he entered his twilight years, Father Samuel looked back on things gone by. He had no regrets. In fact, if he could do it all again, he would.

Later that night, after evening meal and prayer, Father Samuel retired to his modest room. As with every night, he reached for a very special book amongst his modest collection. The worn binding evidenced how often it had been handled.

Carefully, Father Samuel let the pages fall open as they had thousands of times before. Bending over, he breathed in the long lost scent he still imagined to be there. Memories of love and grief flooded his being. He treasured these emotions as testament to the truth. He had loved once.

Gently, he closed the book on the lock of hair … and dreamt of her.